


A Thin Line

by neverminetohold



Series: Gone a-Viking [1]
Category: Vinland Saga (Anime), Vinland Saga (Manga)
Genre: Broccoli Test, Episode Related, Episode: s01e04 A True Warrior, Friendship, Gen, Loyalty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:35:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21988237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neverminetohold/pseuds/neverminetohold
Summary: Much later, Bjorn was still simmering with rage over that so-called jest.
Series: Gone a-Viking [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1582831
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	A Thin Line

The sky was overcast, clouds hiding the stars, and Bjorn was done with his tasks for the night. The ocean was calm, an endless stretch of darkness, the waves just high enough to rock the hull and gleam like metal in the flickering light of torches.

Bjorn moved to the prow, where Askeladd sat wrapped in a blanket, nursing a horn filled with ale. He towered above him. Bjorn curled his fingers into a fist, paying attention to the feeling of his strength gathering, the way his muscles tensed and bulged.

Askeladd finally looked up to reveal that knowing smirk of his'.

Bjorn brought his fist down with the force of a hammer hitting the anvil. It took skill to pull the punch; blonde hair brushed against his skin. Of course Askeladd didn't flinch. Bjorn huffed and sat down beside him on the oaken timbers. It was a tight fit, but sharing body heat on a cold night was a welcome thing, and judging by the gap he had left, Askeladd had foreseen that, too.

Since their first meeting, Bjorn had resigned himself to the fact that a man worth following must also be insufferable, for the spinners had a foul sense of humor beyond mortal ken.

Bjorn stole the drinking horn from Askeladd's loose grip and took a long swig of ale. It went down well but was too sweet for his taste. Bjorn wiped his mouth on the back of his hand and stretched out his legs.

Bjorn stared at the mast, its rigging and sail, at the men on duty and those sleeping, breathed in salt and air and the stink of bilge water, his heart calming as he took in the familiar sights.

"Thors our leader. A jest, was it?"

Askeladd took the horn back and turned his head. In those blue eyes Bjorn read the truth, the bitter disappointment in Thors, the potential for a future Askeladd saw in the boy Thorfinn, but it was like making sense of the patterns of rune sticks.

Bjorn nodded, content to stay there and let the silence and warmth settle between them, and for hours to come, nothing could be heard but the snoring of men and the rhythm of the ocean.


End file.
